The Department of Transportation (DOTr) wants to bring back the maximum passenger capacity (100 percent) in public transportation. This is after setting it to only half (50 percent) due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

DOTr said the recommendation is based on available medical literature and they are ready to defend it before the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Oct. 28, 2021.

The recommendation will help drivers and operators during this COVID-19 pandemic and non-stop increase of fuel prices. Increasing the passenger capacity will mean higher revenue for the public transport sector, according to the agency.

In their defense, they cited various studies. For one, using a face mask and a hand sanitizer is enough to prevent the virus from further spreading. Studies also revealed that passengers in high-risk zones (seats in the same row with an infected passenger and within 3 rows) had moderate but not significantly higher risk.

In addition, DOTr had also conducted a rapid analysis of available data on COVID-19 cases and public transport capacity, which covered 10 countries (Philippine, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Australia, Vietnam, and Malaysia). Ultimately, it was found out that public transport capacity has no significant correlation with the number of COVID-19 cases.

DOTr also stressed that public utility jeepneys and buses operating in Metro Manila are well-ventilated. More importantly, Metro Manila is the ideal place to test the DOTr proposal considering that 81.4% of its population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.